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NLC declares Jan 8 day of nationwide protest over minimum wage

The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has declared January 8 as a day of national protest to drive home its demand for a new minimum wage.

The resolution was reached at the NLC national executive council meeting in Abuja, according to a statement issued Friday by Ayuba Wabba, the union's president.

The NLC is demanding that the minimum wage is increased from the current N18,000 to N30,000, 60 percent less than the South Africa national minimum wage which is at N91,225.

Both the federal and state government are yet to agree with the demand.

While presenting the 2019 budget, President Muhammadu Buhari said a committee will be set up to review the demand while state governors have proposed the sum of N22,500.

The NLC president said the union "strongly condemned" the continued delay by the federal government in transmitting a bill of the new national minimum wage to the national assembly for approval.

"The protest is to express anger and total dissatisfaction over the delay by the federal government in transmitting, enacting and implementing the new national minimum wage of N30,000," the statement read.

"The NEC-in-Session approved that the protests should hold in all state capitals and the Federal Capital Territory Abuja on January 8, 2019. The NEC mandates all industrial unions and state councils to fully mobilise workers and coordinate with other labour unions for this mother-of-all protest."

Some of the meetings between the federal government and NLC on the new minimum wage demand ended in deadlock.